Ty Cobb

A Terrible Beauty

Who was the real Ty Cobb? Was he the greatest hitter in the history of baseball, a hazard on the basepaths who so unnerved opposing pitchers and infielders that he set base-stealing records, some of which still stand today? Or was he a psychopathic racist who sharpened his spikes to injure opposing players and killed black men and beat up white men for pleasure? Charles Leerhsen has examined contemporary newspaper stories, interviews with teammates and opponents, and Cobb's own letters to sort out truth from fiction in this biography of the Georgia Peach.

Summary:Who was the real Ty Cobb? Was he the greatest hitter in the history of baseball, a hazard on the basepaths who so unnerved opposing pitchers and infielders that he set base-stealing records, some of which still stand today? Or was he a psychopathic racist who sharpened his spikes to injure opposing players and killed black men and beat up white men for pleasure? Charles Leerhsen has examined contemporary newspaper stories, interviews with teammates and opponents, and Cobb's own letters to sort out truth from fiction in this biography of the Georgia Peach.

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Ty Cobb - A Terrible Beauty is an exhaustive study of Ty Cobb. Finally, a book based upon the actual history. He truly was one of the greatest in baseball. Played 24 seasons and had a lifetime batting average of .366. He had 897 stolen baes with a season high of 96 in 1915. Once he got on base the real fun began. He has been unfairly characterize for being cruel, but players from his time, almost without exception, said that he played the game fairly. If you love baseball, you will find this book a great read.

Ty Cobb, arguably the greatest player in baseball history has shamefully had his name dragged through the mud in the five decades following his death in 1961. Thankfully, a thoroughly researched biography has finally been written about the Duke of Deadball, dispelling many of the erroneous myths perpetuated by the likes of slippery sportswriter Al Stump and leftist filmmaker Ken Burns. Reading A Terrible Beauty, we learn that most of the stories told about Cobb have become a game of broken telephone where half-truths and outright lies are presented as "irrefutable facts." For starters, the notion that he deliberately spiked his opponents is shown to be utterly false. How does the author know? By directly quoting those players who were allegedly spiked. And while Cobb never shied away from a fight, Charles Leerhsen shows that during that time in baseball, it wasn't uncommon for players from Cy Young to Babe Ruth to fight cranks in the stands who heckled them mercilessly. What Cobb did was nothing out of the ordinary. Finally, the allegations that he was a violent racist are also untrue; many of his combatants magically became black by writers to fit their Cobb as racist narrative. In fact, in addition to being one of the first players to challenge the reserve clause, he gladly welcomed the integration of baseball. Judging him by 2016 standards is clearly unfair but that hasn't stopped the PC establishment one bit. A big thanks to Charles Leerhsen for challenging the so-called conventional wisdom and proving that the dominant narrative surrounding Ty Cobb is built on sand.

Leerhsen hits up around Ty's average when it comes to calling other writers (who didn't do their research) out. If you haven't read this book, you probably have a very wrong impression of Ty Cobb. Not that he didn't have a temper, but you are in for any number of other revelations. Even his own ghost writer Al Stump didn't get it right. If you've read "My Life in Baseball," you still don't have the facts.